To find contact details of your local Information Advice and Support Services. IAS Services have a duty to provide information, advice and support to disabled children and young people, and those with SEN, and their parents. There should be an IAS Service in every local authority.

Getting Extra Help

This page provides an introduction to getting extra help at school

Extra help in school

Your child’s school may decide that they need extra help because they are not making enough progress or are finding it harder to learn than other children of their age.

The school must tell you about this and involve you at every stage. You should be told about any extra help your child is given.

SEN Support

The school will provide extra help called SEN Support. Your child’s class teacher will involve the Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) at the school. The SENCO will be responsible for planning and monitoring but day-to-day teaching will be carried out by individual class or subject teachers. School support staff may also be involved.

What kind of help?

The exact help will depend on the circumstances of your child. This may include:

Individual or small group work

Social skills groups

Different learning materials or special equipment

Staff training for specific activities and interventions

External specialists and professionals to work with your child

Your child's targets and outcomes

You and your child should be involved in agreeing the outcomes and targets that the SEN support will achieve. The targets for your child should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound).

It should be clear to you what support your child will receive, who will provide it, what the desired outcomes are and when progress will be evaluated.

Reviews

Progress should be reviewed regualarly, involving parents and the child. Parents should be updated at least three times per year.

Statutory assessment

Some children have severe or complex needs and require more help than the school can provide using SEN Support. They may need a statutory assessment to find out what their difficulties are and the precise help they need.